Adam & the Ants
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| Adam & the Ants | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genre(s) | New Wave Post-punk Glam punk[1][2] Goth rock |
| Years active | 1977 - 1982 |
| Label(s) | CBS Records Do It Records |
| Associated acts | Bow Wow Wow Adam Ant The Monochrome Set |
| Members | |
| Adam Ant Marco Pirroni Gary Tibbs Terry Lee Miall Merrick |
|
| Former members | |
| Lester Square Andy Warren Paul Flanagan Matthew Ashman Leigh Gorman Dave Barbarossa Kevin Mooney |
|
Adam & the Ants were a New Wave band during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were one of the bands at the time that marked the transition from the 70s punk rock era to the New Wave post-punk music era. Although the band started off with a punk-influenced sound, it soon moved on to New Wave, motivated by new sources such as the drum-heavy "Burundi Beat" heard on "Dog Eat Dog".
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Formation
Prior to the Ants, Adam Ant (real name Stuart Goddard) played bass in pub rock group Bazooka Joe, now primarily known as the band that headlined when the Sex Pistols played their first concert on November 6, 1975, at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. After witnessing this Adam immediately quit the band with the intention of forming his own, inspired by the Sex Pistols.
Tentatively called the B-sides they practiced regularly over the following months but, lacking a drummer, never managed to play a gig. Meanwhile, Adam Ant had befriended some influential figures in the burgeoning London punk scene, most notably Jordan, who worked in Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's SEX boutique store. The Ants eventually formed in early 1977 consisting of Lester Square (guitar), Andy Warren (bass guitar) and Paul Flanagan (drums). Lester Square left to finish Art school and to later form The Monochrome Set just before the Ants played their first gig on May 5, 1977, at Muswell Hill.[3]. Mark Ryan replaced him on guitar and played the first gigs and recorded 'Plastic Surgery' (along with a few other unreleased demos) until he was replaced by Johnny Bivouac in October 1977. [4]
[edit] Early recordings
The band made their radio debut on the John Peel show on January 23, 1978. The following day they recorded Deutscher Girls and Plastic Surgery for the Jubilee soundtrack. Touring extensively around the UK, often with Siouxsie and the Banshees, they proved to be unpopular with much of the British music press who disliked their fetishistic lyrics and imagery.[citation needed] The band struggled to find success or even a record deal until 1978 when they were signed to Decca and released their first single "Young Parisians" to confused reviews and little success. Apparently unable to satisfactorily market the band, the label soon let the band go. Many of their early recordings and demos would eventually surface on bootleg records. Lester Square left the band to form The Monochrome Set. The Ants went through several lineup changes before eventually settling on the semi-stable lineup of Adam Ant (vocals and guitar), Matthew Ashman (guitar), Andy Warren (bass guitar) and Dave Barbarossa (drums), before Warren also left to join Square in The Monochrome Set. It would be this lineup that recorded their debut album Dirk Wears White Sox. They also recorded three John Peel Sessions between 1978 and 1979 which were released in 2001 on The Complete Radio 1 Sessions.
[edit] Dirk Wears White Sox
Late 1979 saw the release of their debut album Dirk Wears White Sox (1979, Do It Records). The title references Dirk Bogarde. The album was somewhat dark, with post-punk riffs and some vestiges of glam rock, as well as attempts to fuse this sound with funk and soul. Lyrically it attempted to address subjects such as fetishism, historical figures like Adolf Hitler, John F. Kennedy and Cleopatra as well as art history, particularly the Futurism movement. It gained a cult following, rather than commercial success, leading a frustrated Adam to hire Malcolm McLaren (manager of the Sex Pistols) in the hope of more widespread recognition.
In January 1980, McLaren convinced the rest of the band, then comprising guitarist Matthew Ashman, bassist Leigh Gorman and drummer Dave Barbarossa to leave the Ants and form Bow Wow Wow, fronted by Annabella Lwin.[1]
[edit] Kings of the Wild Frontier
A new version of the Ants was formed with Marco Pirroni (guitar), Kevin Mooney (bass guitar), and two drummers, Terry Lee Miall and Chris Hughes (Merrick). Pirroni would become an influential member of the group, co-writing many of their songs with Adam Ant.
The band signed a major label deal with CBS Records and began recording Kings of the Wild Frontier. That album was an enormous hit in the United Kingdom and put the band at the forefront of the New Romantic movement. The album reached #1 on the UK album charts on January 24, 1981.
There were several hit singles from this LP, including "Dog Eat Dog" (reaching #4 on the UK singles charts in October 1980), "Antmusic" (#2 in January 1981),which was only held off of #1 due to the re-release of "Imagine" after the death of John Lennon, and "Kings of the Wild Frontier" (#2 in March 1981)[citation needed]. In addition, "Antmusic" made it to #1 in Australia for five weeks.[citation needed]
Bassist Kevin Mooney left the band in 1981, and was replaced with Gary Tibbs who joined just in time to record the hit single "Stand & Deliver".
[edit] Prince Charming
In November 1981, Adam & the Ants released another highly successful album, Prince Charming. The band had two United Kingdom #1 singles. "Stand and Deliver" was the #1 single in the UK for 5 weeks in May 1981 [2], followed by "Prince Charming", which topped the UK charts, for 4 weeks in September 1981. [3] "Ant Rap" reached #3 in January 1982. [4]
This album also includes a bonus "hidden" track called "The Lost Hawaiians." What's more curious is that the when the album was pressed, the text, "HAVE YOU FOUND..." appears in the inner space near the label of side 1, and the text "THE LOST HAWIIANS?" appears on side 2. It is doubtful that the misspelling has any meaning.
[edit] Friend or Foe
The hit single "Goody Two Shoes" is an Adam & the Ants song and was recorded with the ants but rerecorded for his first solo album, Friend or Foe (1982). it was first released as a single backed with Red Scab and was clearly marked as Adam And The Ants. It reached #1 May 1982.This song would be the last thing recorded as Adam And The Ants.
[edit] Music videos
The band seized the opportunities provided by music videos on the new MTV channel to develop a theatrical, charismatic on-screen persona. With romantic costumes and heavy make-up, the band was an early example of the New Romantic movement but they still showed their punk roots. Lavish videos were produced for the Prince Charming singles, including "Stand and Deliver", "Prince Charming", and "Ant Rap". In the "Stand and Deliver" video, Adam Ant is dressed as a "dandy highwayman" and generally indulges his exhibitionist tendencies. These videos helped break the band in the United States when MTV began airing them.
[edit] Breakup
In early 1982, the band received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. [5] In March of 1982, feeling certain band members "lacked enthusiasm", Adam Ant disbanded the group [6] and launched a solo career (though he retained Marco Pirroni as co-writer).
In 2000, a number of "rare" versions of early songs were released in a boxed set, Antbox, with moderate success.
2004 saw the digitally remastered re-release of the albums Dirk Wears White Sox, Kings of the Wild Frontier, and Prince Charming, with bonus material in the form of previously unreleased demo songs. These were overseen by Marco Pirroni, and Kings of the Wild Frontier and Prince Charming were remastered by Chris Hughes (a.k.a Merrick in the band's line-up).
[edit] Discography
[edit] Awards
- 1982 BRIT Awards - Best selling album (for Kings of the Wild Frontier)
[edit] References
- ^ IMissThe80s.com
- ^ HMV.co.uk
- ^ http://www.hiljaiset.sci.fi/punknet/ants_e.htm
- ^ http://www.antmusic.fsnet.co.uk/line_ups.htm
